The purpose of this thread is to clear the air on common misconceptions about love, and differentiating "love" from "attraction" & "infatuation". . .*****************

Attraction

Attraction is what you see about the person that gets you interested in knowing more about the person. This is commonly known as "Love at first sight". . . It is based purely on looks - How beautiful or handsome the person is, How cute her dimples look, the sparkle in her eyes,, his nice smile, confidence in walking or speech, intelligence, swagger, looks like trey songz blah, curves like beyonce blah blah, rich like bill gates blah blah blah. . .

Appearances can be deceiving. An A+ in the looks department "could" be an F9 in the character + manners + brains department. . . You should not fall in love based on appearances. That is a fine mixture of senselessness and foolishness on display. . . We have a lot of Mugus and Magas as a result of erroneously mistaking "attraction" for "love". . .

You meet a girl for the first time, and you say "I love you" <<<<< FAIL!

She asks you the reason for loving her, and you say "the way you walk, talk, smile" <<<<< FAIL!

You see him in a borrowed car, dressed like wizkid and you fall in love. <<<<< FAIL!

She looks like your ex or she reminds you of an ex, and you fall in love. <<<<< FAIL!

You see his picture on Facebook, posing with an expensive car, dressed like a bank executive, clean shaven, handsome looking, you fall in love. <<<<< FAIL!without meeting him or initiating any discussion.<<<<< FAIL+!Ok. You initiate a conversation, and just 2 days later, you profess love for him, without meeting him yet. <<<<< FAIL++!

Getting attracted to someone is normal and very ok, but falling in love solely on the premise of that physical attraction is a what? A FAIL!

Infatuation looks like love, feels like love, includes romantic feelings. . . This is best described as "lust". What you feel is not real, nor fake, just there. Lets just say your feelings are discombobulated and in a disarray. It has qualities of love, you have successfully crossed the "love based solely on attraction" phase, but where you FAIL is in "your true intentions as to why you fell in love" with this particular person.

The favorite quotation of infatuated individuals is "Love is blind". . . Smh.Sorry to burst your bubble, but love is NOT blind. Never was, Never will. "Love" should open it's eyes and see and be aware and look at reality and know when "is" is becoming "are", and do something about that reality. . . You notice a harmful tendency about your partner but because you "love" him/her and you are afraid of losing them, you keep mute, hoping they would change. . . WAKE UP! You are infatuated, and not in love. Whatever love you think you feel is a what? A fallacy!

Typical infatuation:You fall in love with him or her because you don't have a boyfriend or a girlfriend. - FAIL!

You fall in love because she is perfect, a perfectionist. - FAIL!

She asks why you love her, you say "No reason. I just love you". - FAIL!

Love on the other hand is a well rounded knowledge of this individual. It's not based on mere looks alone, or material and emotional gains. Your eyes are well opened, and you know what you are getting into, and you know what you are doing. You can describe the good and bad qualities of this person, and confidently explain why you are so in love with him or her. . . - Love!

You have misunderstandings but you resolve them in a matured and very reasonable manner, rather than dissolving the relationship. You don't try to hide who you are, you accept your mistakes, promise to change, and you do change. - Love!

You meet other ladies more pretty than she is, but you don't pay them no mind. You don't betray the trust he has in you. You feel a sense of loyalty, fierce loyalty towards them. Their pain is your pain, and their joy is your joy. - Love!

They don't take advantage of you, don't force you to go against your wish, proffers suggestions on how to deal with a matter, and allow you make a choice. - Love!

Respect your privacy, realize you can make mistakes, forgives you easily because they feel empathy towards your situation. Forgives you and never brings the matter up, nor discuss your wrong doings with friends. - Love!

Your mouth stinks, they tell you and buy you mints. - Love!

Proud of you and your accomplishments, no matter how little. Never comparing you to another, but will rather seek to bring you up to standards in love. Corrects you with a smile on his face. - Love!

Love is kind, Love endures, love is not jealous, Love is not proud. Love, is more than just a feeling. Love makes a person act in accordance with knowledge, devoid of ignorance, immaturity, stupidity, childishness. . . Love has no time for "silent treatment". It faces the issue head on, resolves it and forges ahead.

When in love, your heart speaks, but your brain listens and assesses. Infatuation fades with time, but love grows stronger with time.

Love is when you look beyond attraction and infatuation, Love, is more than saying "I love you".